Professor Richard M. Noyes is supported by a grant from the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program to continue his studies of oscillations and dynamic instabilities in chemical systems. In particular, Noyes proposes to perform studies in the following basic areas: 1) to further the mechanistic studies of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction; 2) to improve our understanding of the oscillatory oxidation of benzaldehyde; 3) to study the nucleation of bubbles and transport of molecules between gas and liquid phases; 4) to extend the theories of behavior in complex systems; and 5) to study oscillations and instabilities in biological systems. %%% Any chemical system isolated from further inputs of matter or energy will ultimately decay toward a nonreactive state called chemical equilibrium. If light or heat or reactant chemicals of high energy are constantly added, the system may be kept far from equilibrium and may exhibit exotic behaviors such as oscillations in composition or bursts of gas evolution. Noyes' research program is directed to discovering and elucidating these mechanisms and to learning the conditions responsible for their occurence. Such studies are intended to learn both how to prevent undesirable instabilitiers and also how to use instabilities to accomplish useful purposes.
